Dream Benders
by Saucebender
Summary: When is a dream more than a dream? When its purpose is to bring two enemies together to fulfill their shared destiny. Rated M for violence, adult content and whatever happens in later chapters. Zutara.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

_**A/N: OK, if you've already read this chapter, there's no need to read it again. I didn't really change it, I just fixed a few typos. I figured I might as well re-post it while I was posting the next chapter. Thanks to Obwohl who kindly let me know that I **__**still**_** had some mistakes in here. I have a little OCD problem, I'm obsessed with grammar mistakes and misspellings and typos. I **_**hate**_** having them in my writing so I appreciate it when people point them out! To me, even if there are only a few a people reading my story, I still want it to be the best it can be. Hopefully, it is now!**

The voice was quiet at first, barely a whisper. So quiet in fact, that the teenager was easily able to pretend he hadn't heard it.

"Zuko? Zuko, wake up." The voice was slightly louder now, but soothing. It was accompanied by a soft hand on his shoulder.

"Mmmph, what?"

"Come on Prince Zuko. You've been ill, but it's time to wake up now." The voice washed over him like a warm, comforting wave, but the young prince still resisted.

"Mmm-mm!"

"Prince Zuko, I need your help. Please wake up." Zuko felt a cool hand press against his forehead. This simple act was even more soothing than the voice. "How are you feeling, Prince Zuko?"

The banished prince allowed his eyes to flutter open just enough to see a woman sitting on the edge of his bed. He was unable to make out her face, but she had very long, dark hair and was wearing what appeared to be a long red cloak. Could it be?

"M-mom?"

"No." The sadness in the woman's voice matched Zuko's own emotions. "I'm sorry Prince Zuko. Maybe someday, but not today." As she spoke, her hand drifted from his forehead to his chest. It came to rest directly above his heart and gave Zuko an intense feeling of deja vu. The fog in his head began to clear and suddenly Zuko was struck with the realization that his ship had not one female crew member, and it was therefore impossible for a woman to be in his cabin.

"Wait. Who-" Zuko sat up as much as his fever-riddled head would allow and blinked for a moment while his vision stopped swimming. But as soon as he was able to get a good look at his uninvited guest, the room began spinning again.

The woman sitting on the edge of his bed was _not_ his mother. In fact, she was barely a _woman_ at all. And she, of all people definitely should _not_ have been in his cabin.

"You!"

"Yes, me."

"You -" _How the hell? _"What are you doing on my ship, Peasant?" He spoke before he thought better of it. He was, after all, still not completely recovered and lying in bed in just his underpants and she was sitting above him, fully clothed with her hands on his chest. Zuko prepared himself for her inevitable reaction to his insult but it didn't come. In fact she didn't even look angry. She looked as though she had been expecting his outburst.

"Could you please not call me that, Prince Zuko? I do have a name you know."

_What? That's it? No water whip to the face? _"Yeah, I know."

"Really?"

"What?"

"You know my name?"

"Oh, no. I uh… just meant that I know you _have_ a name."

"Oh."

_OK, this is just odd. _"What are you-"

"I've been on your ship for a few days now Prince Zuko." The girl stood up and walked across the room to his desk. There was a basin filled with water and a cloth that Zuko's uncle had been using to cool his forehead during the fever. The girl held her hand above the basin and Zuko watched the water slowly spiral up to meet her fingers and then back down to the bowl. "You've been pretty sick. Some things have been happening that you are not aware of. Things you may not approve of." As she spoke the girl held the red cloak she was wearing tighter around her and Zuko thought he saw her shudder.

"What things? I mean, besides the Avatar's waterbender sneaking onto my ship completely unnoticed by any of my crew?" As Zuko spoke the girl closed her eyes and turned away from him. This time there was no mistaking it. She was trembling and she took a shaky breath before answering.

"Actually, a number of your crew do know I'm here. You've been sick and your uncle has been caring for you so they haven't had much trouble keeping me a secret."

None of this made any sense. What was she doing on his ship? Did she come alone to attack him or was the Avatar on his ship somewhere also? And what was that she said about his crew keeping her a secret? Were they in cahoots with the Avatar? And, what was she wearing? It wasn't a cloak, Zuko could see that now.

"What are you wearing?"

At this question the girl looked up and smiled sheepishly. "Your bed sheet."

"My bed sheet?" Zuko lifted his bedspread and looked under it. His top sheet was gone.

"Yes, I needed to borrow it. I hope you don't mind."

"Why… how... never mind." She would just give him one of those infuriatingly vague answers anyways. "I do mind, you have no right to touch my things." Zuko held out his hand and the girl's smile faded. "Give it back."

For a moment she didn't move and Zuko thought she was going to refuse. Then what would he do? Get out of bed in his underpants and fight her for it? Thankfully she stepped forward and took off the sheet, to hand it over. Zuko barely felt the silky material slide through his fingers like water and fall to the floor. He was too busy taking in the scene in front of him to notice anything else.

The girl stood with her head turned to the side and tilted down, her eyes on the floor. Her left arm hung at her side, while her right arm was crossed over her chest. Zuko's gaze traveled from her face to her feet and back up again. He now understood why she had

been clinging so tightly to his bed sheet - she was in her underwear. The bright white wrappings were not terribly revealing, but they made a sharp (and quite stunning) contrast against her tanned skin. Zuko noted that even though she was technically covered, the wrappings still showed off every curve of her well-toned figure. He tore his eyes from her body to look back at her face. She looked embarrassed and afraid, and Zuko almost felt guilty for making her give back his sheet. Almost. He _was_ still a teenaged boy. After a moment he cleared his throat and tried to speak, mentally berating himself when his voice cracked. Wasn't he too old for that?

"Where… uh, what happened to your clothes?"

Still refusing to look at him, the girl gave a small, sad smile.

"I've had a bad few days."

Zuko didn't ask what she meant. He was trying to piece together the odd things she had said earlier with this newest statement, but his brain seemed to be moving slower than normal. After a minute or two the girl spoke again.

"Do you want to know why I came to you?"

"Oh. Uh, yeah. Yes."

"I can help you."

"What?" He couldn't help his harsh tone, nor did he want to. He was a prince. She was a peasant. What help could _she_ possibly be to _him_? "What makes you think I need your help?"

"I don't think you need my help."

"Hmmph."

"I _know_ you need my help."

"What? How can you-"

"I can help you find the Avatar."

"…Excuse me?"

"Then you can both go to the Fire Nation and end this war."

"Come again?"

"Don't you want this war to end? Don't you want to go home?"

"Yes, but-"

"Don't you want to regain your throne? Your honor?"

"OK, hold on! You expect me to believe that you _want_ to help me capture the Avatar? You're really going to help me deliver the Avatar to my father so he can take down the Earth Kingdom, take over the world, and then rename me as his heir?"

"No."

"_No?" _Was she purposely not making any sense?

"You're not going to _deliver_ the Avatar to your father, you're going to take the Avatar to the Fire Nation with you so he can help you end this war peacefully. The Earth Kingdom will not be taken down, it will be taken back. And you will have to fight for your right to sit on the throne as Fire Lord. But I'll be there to help you with that as well."

"What do you mean_ 'end the war peacefully_'?"

"Well, as peacefully as possible. This war has been going on for a hundred years only because the Fire Nation Royal Family has been ruthless in its desire to dominate the world. But if the head of the royal family were stopped-"

"Are you suggesting I fight my own father? I can't do that. I need to bring the Avatar to him in chains. Then my father will restore my honor and I will once again be heir to the throne."

"What does Fire Lord Ozai know about honor?!" She was angry now. She seemed to have forgotten that she was in her underwear, and she was making animated hand gestures as she yelled. "How can you look for approval from a man who made a public spectacle of humiliating and scarring his own son? He gave you that burn because you stood up for people who were unable to stand up for themselves. He punished you for doing the right thing. He calls you weak, but you are a stronger man than he will ever be. Your love and respect for your father kept you from fighting against him and how did he repay you? By giving you that mark and sending you out on a wild goose-pigeon chase! He never expected you to find the Avatar. He never wanted you to come home. And then, after what happened at the North Pole, after losing almost his entire Northern Fleet, was he thankful that his only son had survived? No! Instead, he sent your sister to arrest you, to bring you back to the Fire Nation in shame. Do you really think that he will ever accept you back as his son, even if you do capture the Avatar? Do you really want him to? Do you really want a man like that to be proud of you? If you succeed in this quest, will you be proud of yourself? If you were able to capture a child, and deliver him to your father in chains, would you truly be able to live with yourself?"

"The suffering of one innocent per-"

"_One?!_ You think no one else has suffered due to this war? That about Song? What did your people do with her father? And what did she do to deserve that horrible burn on her leg? What about almost a hundred earthbenders imprisoned on a mining ship for no other reason than being a threat to the Fire Nation's 'great legacy?'" The last two words were spoken with much sarcasm and the girl made air-quotes with her fingers and rolled her eyes as she spoke. "And what about that little boy, Lee? What about his brother and what his parents are going through? What about the people of the Water Tribes? The South Pole has been nearly decimated and Zhao's forces almost destroyed the North Pole as well. What about your uncle? He lost his only son due to this war." The girl hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a much softer voice. "Zuko, what about your mother? How much has this war cost her?"

"You don't get it." Zuko was angry, but not sure if it was at her or himself. Or maybe his father. He pushed the thoughts of his mother and what she would think of his actions these past few months to the back of his mind. He wondered how this girl could know so much about his life, but continued to argue with her. "Bringing the Avatar to my father is the only way I'll ever have a chance at the throne. It may be a long shot but it's all I have. I'm Ozai's first-born, I should be heir to the throne. I should be the crown-prince of the Fire Nation. I can't give up on that. It's my destiny to capture the Avatar and if I can do that, maybe I can prove to my father that I'm not worthless."

"Zuko, _you are a __**prince**_. It's in your blood and no one can take that away from you. You are meant to sit on that throne and rule the Fire Nation. But how you get there is up to you. You need to ask yourself some big questions; Who are you? And what do _you_ want?"

"I want my honor. My throne. My country. Without the Avatar, I'll lose them all."

"Maybe, but where is the honor in capturing a child?"

A wave of emotion hit Zuko, making him light-headed. The girl was speaking the truth, but it was difficult to accept it because he had been in denial for so long. To admit it was true would be too painful and besides, he had heard all this before from Uncle.

"I know my own destiny!"

"Is it your _own_ destiny, or is it a destiny that someone else has tried to force on you?"

It was too much for the exiled prince to take in and the room started spinning again. The girl gently pushed Zuko back against his pillows and sat back down beside him. She looked down at him with compassion in her eyes and put her hand on his forehead. She seemed thoughtful for a moment then leaned over and pressed her lips where her hand had been, trying to judge his temperature. Zuko closed his eyes. His mom used to do the same thing when he was younger and it had always been very comforting for him. But the familiar gesture, when done by this girl, invoked some new feelings in him.

"You should get some rest Prince Zuko. Things are about to get a little crazy for you." As the girl spoke, she lifted her left hand. Across the room, the water lifted out of the basin, forming a bubble around the cloth. She turned her hand palm-up and wiggled her fingers, beckoning the water to her, carrying the cloth with it. She took the cloth and began wringing it out over the bubble. The she motioned with her hand again and the water floated back to the basin. As she put the cool cloth gently on his forehead, he studied her wrist. It was small and very tanned. It looked petit and delicate, but he knew the power it held, especially when she was angry.

Zuko closed his eyes and tried to clear his head. He wondered if he was dreaming. He had to be. It was the only way this girl could know so much about his past and about his constant inner turmoil. It was the only explanation. Although, if this _were_ really happening it would be the perfect chance to get his hands on the Avatar. Everything the girl said made sense, but he wasn't sure if he really wanted to assist in the takedown of his own father. Zuko was still clinging to his dream of gaining Ozai's acceptance and it wouldn't hurt for him to take the girl up on at least part of her offer. He decided to go along with her plan to find the Avatar. Maybe he _would_ join them, but if he chose not to it would be much easier to capture the Avatar if he had already earned the group's trust. He sighed before speaking.

"So, when do we leave to go find the Avatar?"

The girl took a moment to answer. Zuko lay with his eyes closed while he waited for her to collect her thoughts.

"Not right away. First I need-" She stopped abruptly and when she started speaking again her voice sounded strained, like she was trying to keep from crying. "I need your help. I'm not safe here. They won't kill me because I'm more valuable alive, but they have other things planned for me while they wait for you. Things worse than death. And the threat of punishment from you won't hold them off for much longer."

She was crying now and she sounded scared. She was still holding the moist cloth on his forehead and Zuko could feel her hand shaking. He opened his eyes to ask her what she meant and received a gruesome shock. Her pretty little wrist had a mark on it that wasn't there a moment ago. It was about two inches thick and wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet. It was also covered in angry red blisters, almost like a burn mark. Zuko sat up and grabbed her arm, realizing too late that he should have been more gentle. When she whimpered in pain he loosened his grip slightly, but didn't let go.

"What happened to your-" His voice caught in his throat as he looked up. Her shoulders and upper arms were covered in bruises and there was a burn on her neck. The burn, Zuko noticed, was wrapped around her throat in the shape of a rather large hand. Her wrappings, which moments ago had been clean and white, were now torn and covered in dirt and what could have been blood. Her stomach and legs were burned and bruised as well. The same odd marks that encircled her wrists were also on her ankles. She had her head turned away from him so he couldn't tell if the injuries extended to her face. He cautiously reached up and touched her chin. When she didn't protest he turned her face gently so he could get a better look at it. It wasn't nearly as bad as he had expected. She looked tired and defeated, her face was pale and her eyes had gray circles beneath them. The only thing that looked hurt though was her lower lip. It was kind of swollen and just to the left of it was an oddly shaped mark. It was actually a pattern of small, individual bruises. Zuko was horrified to realize that it was probably a bite mark. He wanted to ask her what had happened, who had done this to her, but chose not to. He didn't think she'd give him a straight answer. And in all honesty, he wasn't sure he wanted to know. He tried to get her to look at him. She couldn't turn her face away because Zuko was still holding her chin, but she kept her eyes on the floor. When she spoke her voice sounded raw and gravelly, as though her throat had been injured.

"I told you, I've had a bad few days."

Zuko wasn't sure where it was coming from but he was flooded with emotions he couldn't understand. He wanted to comfort this girl and protect her. He wanted to find the people who did this to her and really, _really_ hurt them. He wanted to get out of his bed and run as far away as possible. What was wrong with him? He shouldn't be feeling this way about her, she was a peasant. She was the enemy, the biggest obstacle between himself and the Avatar. If not for her, Zuko would probably have captured the little monk and been on his way home months ago. In fact, her current condition would probably make his task much easier. Besides, he had no place feeling concern for her, especially after all the pain he himself had caused her.

But something had changed. She had offered to help him get home, something he was beginning to think impossible. And with her help, he could reach his goal without having to hurt any more innocent people. _Innocent people_. People like her. What had this girl ever done to him? To anyone? All she ever did was try to protect the people she cared about. And for that Zuko had attacked her, insulted her, sent pirates after her, tied her to a tree, threatened her, tried to bribe her, hunted her down, and knocked her unconscious. Most recently, he attacked her some more, even when she offered to help someone _he_ cared about.

Zuko didn't realize he was still holding her chin until he felt the teardrops on his hand. She was trying to hide it, but she was crying again.

"Hey-" He didn't know what to say, but he knew he needed to say something. She looked up when he spoke and met his eyes. At the sight of her tears Zuko felt a pain in his chest he had never felt before. _Forget this. Forget that she's the enemy, that she's with the Avatar. She's hurting, I can't… not do anything._ "Hey, listen. It's gonna be OK. You're on my ship now and nothing can happen to you here, OK? You're safe now."

She looked at him with an odd expression and tried to turn her face away again. When he wouldn't let her, she tried to pull her arm free. But he didn't let go of her wrist. Instead, he gave it a small tug towards him and to his surprise she leaned against his chest and began to cry harder. Zuko was so shocked he found himself unable to move. This was so unlike the fiery waterbender he had been chasing all over the world for the last few months. He would never have thought that she could be this vulnerable. Even more astonishing than the fact that she was allowing him to see her like this was the fact that she was accepting his comforting. Zuko himself hadn't realized he was capable of this type of compassion, but the girl didn't seem surprised or uncomfortable at all. In fact, Zuko got the impression that she had been expecting this. He was dumbfounded. He held himself up with one hand and awkwardly stroked her hair with the other. After a few moments he heard her sigh.

"I'm sorry. I can't wait until you- until these few days are over." As she spoke she sat up and Zuko noticed that her injuries had disappeared and her underclothes were once again white. He didn't even question it. By this point he was quite certain that this whole thing was a dream brought on by either his fever or his damned teenaged hormones. Although, if it was his hormones, Zuko wondered why he was dreaming about this _particular_ girl. Maybe because she was pretty much the only girl he had really interacted with in the past three years? But even more important, if this insane dream _was_ hormone driven, why the bizarre topic? Finding the Avatar and going back to his father? Come on, the girl is in her _underwear_, couldn't his hormones make this dream a little more… erotic?

As though she had read Zuko's mind, the girl summoned a small amount of water from the basin to remoisten the cloth on his forehead. Then she leaned close to him so that when she spoke her lips brushed his ear.

"How's this? Are you feeling any better?" Her breathy whisper washed over him and she moved more like a prowling pantherfox than a teenaged girl. Zuko leaned back into his pillows and decided to forget the weirdness and just enjoy his dream.

"Too warm." Zuko closed his eyes and spoke softly. The cloth felt cooler suddenly and the girl spoke again.

"Better?"

"Cooler. Please." He opened his eyes in time to see her blowing gently towards his forehead, her breath frosty and cold. As his forehead cooled down, Zuko felt other places heat up. It was as though all his tension had left the rest of his body and traveled straight to his groin. He closed his eyes again and sighed. In order to blow cool air onto his forehead the girl had to lean across him. Her chest was pressed against his and the thin fabric of her wrap allowed him to feel her soft curves. Her right hand was still at his head, softly touching his hair. Her left hand was gently caressing his arm, sending shivers through his body. Zuko wanted so badly to touch the beautiful blue-eyed girl the way she was touching him, to make her feel the way he was feeling. Without opening his eyes, he moved his hand along the bed until he felt her leg. His hand traveled to her waist and rested there, his thumb tracing little circles in her bare skin. She shivered a little herself before blowing her cool breath onto the cloth at his forehead.

"How 'bout now? Is that better, _Prince Zuko_?"

Zuko had heard his own name hundreds of times, but never before had hearing his name made him feel like this. She sounded like she enjoyed saying it, as though just uttering his name was giving her pleasure. The only answer he could muster was a quiet moan, but was pleased when she responded the same way. She pressed herself against him a little more and Zuko could feel her breath on his scarred ear. As her breathing began to speed up, his own heart beat faster. Feeling bold, he moved his hand further up her side. He vaguely pondered what the water bender would do if she knew he was dreaming about her this way. _She'd probably water-whip me into next week. Although the 'whipping' part might not be too bad…_ The moment the thought entered his mind, Zuko felt her weight lift off his chest. He opened his eyes slowly, feeling a little ashamed of himself. _Can she hear my thoughts?_ She shook her head and smiled in fake disappointment. _Yep, she can._

"Zuko…" She sounded like she was going to scold him, but he wasn't sure he minded. Before he could stop it, an image of her in her underclothes with a water-whip in each hand popped into his head.

"Zuko!" This time she sounded a little taken aback, but she was still smiling. "Jeez, how 'bout a little self control?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I was thinking those-"

"Yes you do," she giggled and ran a finger down his chest. After a moment she sighed and turned serious. "I should be going, I've been gone way too long."

"What? No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been thinking like that. I'll stop, I prom-"

"That's not it Zuko." She looked up over his shoulder and stared straight ahead as though she were seeing something he could not. She looked back at him and spoke again.

"Listen, we really can help each other, but you'll have to patient with me. _I_ know I can trust you, but I won't be easy to convince. It will take me a while to see you the way I see you now. And I'm so scared. I'll never admit it to you because I still see you as the enemy, as one of them." She looked up again and gestured in the direction she had staring a moment before. Zuko turned to look, but saw nothing. He turned back when she began speaking again. "But right now I'm so afraid and I'm in so much pain. It won't be easy to earn my trust, and losing your temper won't help. I really believe we can do this. I wouldn't have been able to come here if the spirits didn't want us to try. But I don't think it's guaranteed. We could fail if we don't learn to trust each other completely."

"What?" Zuko wondered how she could think he didn't trust her after everything that had happened in the last few minutes. "But I do-"

"No. You won't. And neither will I. Just… don't give up. Try to be strong for me when I need it, but also… you'll have to open up and let me in, even if it hurts. I'll be strong for you too, once I start trusting you…"

Zuko stopped listening. The girl wasn't making any sense again. This time however, Zuko was getting dizzy trying to figure out what she was saying. She was referring to herself, but she sounded like she was talking about another person.

"… I'll be seeing you soon. Goodbye, _Dragon_." She winked as she spoke the last word and smiled. She stood up and started to turn away, but Zuko grabbed her hand.

"Wait! Just… wait. Please." Watching her stand and walk away from his bed after all that mysterious talk was just too much. His mind was suddenly flooded with very painful

memories and he racked his brain, trying to think of a way to make the girl stay. "You, uh… you still haven't told me your name."

She pulled her wrist from his grasp and began backing away. "I can't tell you right now. I really have to-" She stopped speaking abruptly and drew in a quick breath as her head turned sharply to the right. She shook her head a little as though she were trying to shake away pain. When she looked back at Zuko there was a large red mark on her left cheek. It was in the shape of a hand, like she'd been slapped. The color of the mark and the blisters that were beginning to form there suggested that the hand that slapped her belonged to an angry firebender. As she spoke again she started to fade. It looked as if she were turning into mist and her voice sounded far away.

"They're getting angry. I've been gone too long. Please, I need you to hurry Prince Zuko."

And then she was gone. Zuko looked around his cabin, but knew she wasn't there. He felt the cold cloth on his forehead and lay back against the pillows. The room began to spin and he closed his eyes before falling into the darkness.

**A/N: This is the first fanfic I have had the nerve to post, so please be nice in your reviews. But I'll take any constructive criticism I can get. I had no idea it would be so difficult to write this. It's all in my head, but getting it out in a way that makes sense wasn't easy. I know where I wanted it to start and I think I know where I want it to end, but I'm not sure how I'm going to get from point A to point B, so I'm open to suggestions.**

**Also, this story begins during season two, between Bitter Work and The Library. I do realize Zuko doesn't have a ship at this point in the real story. I will eventually explain how he got this one, so please be patient.**

**I hope you all enjoy this, thanks so much for reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**A/N: Wow. OK, so I'm really sorry it took me so long to update. Every time I thought I was ready to update I would find something else I wanted to change. A couple of the paragraphs got me so stressed out that I gave up and decided that if one of you didn't like something you would let me know. So please do, OK?**

**I wanted to thank the following readers: Zutara-vampirepirate for being my first reviewer ever! And for begging me to update. Sorry this took so long. Also, Obwohl for pointing out that when it comes to proof-reading, there is no such thing as over-doing it! I can't believe I still had so many mistakes! And, last but not least... I am so excited that I got a review from one of my favorite writers. If you haven't read In the Cover of Night by Loiel, please go do so now. It's an _awesome_ story, full of something I like to call "Zutaraliciousness!" Yes, I made that word up. **

**Anyway, Loiel tells me that my story started out a bit dark, even though that wasn't my intention. Thank you, Loiel, for encouraging me to not change my story and to keep it on the path it is currently on.**

**So I did. Here's chapter 2, although hopefully it's not as dark as chapter 1.**

Zuko didn't know how long it had been since he passed out against his pillows. He was awakened by a sharp pounding at his cabin door and his uncle entered the room without waiting for him to answer.

_Why does he even bother to knock? What if the girl was still here?_

The girl! Zuko propped himself up on his elbows and glanced around before closing his eyes and leaning back again.

_She's gone._

"Are you feeling better nephew?" Iroh was sitting on the edge of Zuko's bed, the urgent matter he had come to discuss momentarily forgotten. He had thought his nephew was recovering, but now the boy seemed disoriented and it worried the old general.

"I'm fine, Uncle." Zuko opened his eyes, he _was_ feeling better. The prince noticed where his uncle was sitting and closed his eyes again before speaking. "You're in her spot."

"… Nephew?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm in… whose spot?"

Zuko's eyes snapped open. He blinked at his uncle before smiling a little and shaking his head.

"It was just a dream."

Iroh was quite perplexed at his nephew's behavior. The poor boy rarely smiled. When he did it was more of a smug, arrogant smirk than a true smile. The older man wondered what could have his nephew smiling now. _Wait a minute, __**"her spot?"**__ Was he dreaming about… a __**girl?**_ Iroh was suddenly struck by the realization that his angry, brooding nephew was also a teenaged boy.

"Well, judging by the look on your face it must have been some dream, Prince Zuko."

As the young man's eyes met his uncle's his smile faded. _"Prince Zuko."_ Hearing his uncle say his name reminded him of the way the girl's voice had made him feel in his dream. Zuko tried to shake the thought from his head. That's all it was, a dream. It wasn't real. The way she had looked at him and touched him. The way she said his name. None of it was real. She would never feel that way about him. She hated him and Zuko reminded himself that he also hated her. He furrowed his brow in frustration. Why was he dreaming about _her_ anyway? She was a waterbender, a peasant. She was friends with the Avatar. And he, Zuko, was prince of the Fire Nation. He may be a fugitive at the moment, but he would never be a peasant. And he would _never_ stoop low enough to even consider a relationship with a filthy Water Tribe girl. Not even a friendship. And definitely not an alliance whose purpose was to take down his own father. He _was_ going to regain his honor and return home. And the girl was standing in his way. His dream was due to his high fever, nothing more.

Zuko sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, some dream."

Iroh noticed the sudden change in his nephew's demeanor. He was wondering if it was just another of Zuko's mood swings when he noticed something else.

"Zuko, how did you get this?"

"Get wha-" Zuko's voice caught in his throat as his uncle took the cloth from his forehead.

"I left this over there in the basin. Did you get up and get it?"

"No Uncle, I haven't been out of bed. You must have left it here with me and forgot."

Iroh held the cloth in his hands, trying to remember where he had left it. He left it in the basin, he was sure of it.

"No Zuko, I left it over there. And it wasn't this cold either. How did it get like this?" He handed it to his nephew, who didn't seem to have an answer.

"It really isn't that cold, Uncle." Zuko was trying to convince himself as well. It _was _a little strange.

"Yes, it is cold. How did-"

"I don't know, Uncle." Zuko handed the cloth back to his uncle and got out of bed. "Maybe some mysterious blue-eyed waterbender snuck in here and blew on my - oof!" Zuko stumbled and went down. He turned to see what had tripped him and caught his breath. When he spoke again his voice was barely audible.

"My bed sheet," he whispered. His eyes met those of his uncle and he quickly tried to compose himself. His bed coverings never really stayed on well, especially during his nightmares, why would this dream be any different? Zuko told himself that this dream _could_ be considered a nightmare, given that it was about the Water Tribe girl. "Wow. Uh, I guess it _was_ a pretty intense dream." He gave his uncle what he hoped was a sheepish smile, stood up and walked into the bathroom.

Iroh watched his nephew curiously. Zuko was acting very odd. Something was definitely way off and the general wondered what his nephew had been dreaming about. He thought about what his nephew had said._ A mysterious, blue-eyed waterbender? It couldn't be… but what other waterbender would he be dreaming about? __**Was**__ it a dream… or something else?_ Iroh jumped from the bed and ran towards the bathroom, bursting through the door without knocking.

"Zuko!"

"**What?!**" Zuko spun around, startled. He had been about to remove his under shorts and quickly yanked them back up when his uncle barged into the bathroom. The water was running in the large tub his uncle insisted upon buying shortly after they acquired the ship. Apparently the old man thought a few long, hot baths would be enough to calm the scarred prince's notorious temper. While no one on board the ship would call Zuko calm, he _had_ found a use for the tub that relieved at least a little stress.

"Well… I came to your room because there was something very important I needed to discuss with you, but…" Iroh looked at the cloth in his hand. It was still pretty cool, almost unnaturally so.

"But _what_ Uncle?" Zuko was still holding his shorts up with his left hand. His frustration level had been rising steadily since he woke up and he really just wanted to relax alone in his tub for a while.

"I think I'd like to hear about your dream first."

"Not now Uncle. I'm too tired." _And I __**really**__ want to relax for a little while._

"You've been asleep for four days, Zuko. You can't be that tired." Iroh handed the still-cool cloth to his nephew and leaned against the doorway. Zuko would have to talk if he ever wanted to get out of the bathroom. Or into the tub.

Zuko turned the cloth over in his hand a couple of times before sighing in defeat and tossing it onto the counter. Then he tied his shorts, turned off the tub, and hoisted himself up to sit next to the sink. He let out another sigh and bent his head down so that he could run his fingers through his hair

"I don't know what you want me to tell you, it was just a dream."

"About what, Nephew? When I sat on your bed you said I was in _her_ spot, then you mentioned a waterbender. Who were you dreaming about?" Iroh was really pressing the issue now, and Zuko knew he wasn't going to give up without answers.

"Look, it's really not a big deal, it was just a… dream about a girl." Zuko refused to look his uncle in the eye. He picked up the cloth and studied it for moment, then continued. "It's not like I've never dreamt about girls before, Uncle." _Although those dreams are very rare and nothing like this one was._

"Zuko, please just tell me." Iroh wasn't going to give up, it was either talk or be stuck in the bathroom forever with the old man.

"Fine." Zuko proceeded to tell his uncle all about his dream. He did leave a few things out, like how she touched him and the way he felt when she said his name. He was sure his uncle knew he was skipping things, but the general had a great imagination. He could fill in the blanks on his own. Besides, this whole thing was already embarrassing enough. Here he was, Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation having _that_ kind of dream about a filthy little Water Tribe peasant.

Zuko was unable to look at his uncle as he spoke, so he didn't notice that all the color had drained from Iroh's face the moment the young prince confirmed that he had dreamt about the Avatar's waterbender. He didn't notice Iroh sink down onto a bench and put his face in his hands as Zuko described what the girl had said and how her appearance had changed from the strong, confident waterbender he was used to encountering to a beaten and broken girl begging for his help. It wasn't until he had finished that he looked up and saw how distraught his uncle was.

"Uncle, are you OK?"

"Zuko, I don't think that was just a normal dream. I think it was more of a-"

"OK, OK! I get it, Uncle!" Zuko jumped off the counter and waved his arms in an effort to silence the older man. "It's not like I've never had one before!"

"You've had a dream like this before? Exactly like this?"

"Uh, well… no. I mean, not… I've never dreamt about, ya know, _her_ like that. But-"

"No! Forget what the girl was wearing and forget whatever it was that she did to you. Think about what she _said_. Have you ever had a wet dream with such an… urgent and… prophetic message before?"

Zuko winced at his uncle's unabashed choice of words. He would have been mortified by the old man's blasé use of the word _wet_ if he hadn't been struck by the question itself. He wasn't really sure how to answer it because he didn't really know what his uncle was getting at.

"Um… well, no. I mean usually, uh… during _those _kinds of, um…" Zuko sighed and gave up trying to hold onto his pride. "Usually when I dream like that there's… very little talking."

Damn it! This whole situation was bordering on humiliating. How did they even get to this point? Zuko tried to reason it away. He was a teenaged boy, of course he dreamt about girls. And it really wasn't that crazy for him to be dreaming about her. In fact, it made perfect sense. He was obsessed with capturing the avatar and she was the biggest reason why he hadn't yet. And as sad as it was, he had to face it, he had interacted more with that little peasant in the past few months than he had with all the other females he had met in the past three years, combined. He dreamed about her being in pain because in real-life she was such a pain to him that there were a few times when he had wanted to really hurt her. He didn't though. He couldn't, it was unnecessary and dishonorable.

And that damned Avatar. That _child_ bested him every time they fought. It made Zuko crazy that he, the Fire Nation Prince, could be beaten by a twelve-year-old boy. But in his dream the girl chose _him_, Zuko, scarred and dishonored. She threw herself at him, half-naked, worried over him and tended to his illness. It was a symbol of Zuko's superiority over the Airbender.

However, some of the dream was nothing more than teenaged hormones and didn't need interpretation. The part where she covered his fore_head_ with a _wet_ cloth and _blew_ cold air onto it didn't take a genius to translate. A pervert maybe, but not a genius. That was why this whole thing was so embarrassing to Zuko. It was bad enough that he had just been forced to recount a dream like this to his uncle. But the waterbender was so far beneath him. His father would probably have him publicly castrated if he knew he'd been dreaming like that about a Water Tribe peasant, especially the Avatar's friend.

The young prince looked down at his uncle, who was still seated on the bench. The general didn't seem to notice Zuko's discomfort. He was lost in thought, rubbing his beard with a furrowed brow.

"Zuko, I think I should tell you what I came here to talk to you about. Last night while I was checking up on things before retiring to bed, I overheard a very disturbing conversation. A few of the crew members were discussing a prisoner."

"A prisoner? Where?"

"Here, on the ship."

"We don't have any prisoners, do we? Did something happen while I was sick?"

"We don't have any prisoners. At least, not as far as I know. I certainly have not been informed of any prisoners being brought aboard the ship. You fell ill about four days ago, the same day we left port, so it is possible that something happened before we departed. The situation is being looked into but I wanted to prepare you."

"Prepare me? Prepare me for what, Uncle?"

"Zuko, based on the description of the prisoner that I overheard, I think it may be-"

Iroh was interrupted by a knock at the outer door to Zuko's cabin. The retired general sighed and left the bathroom to answer the door. Zuko closed his eyes for a moment and tried to clear the memory of his dream from his head. That's all it was, a crazy dream brought on by his illness and all the stress he'd been under recently. It was actually rather easy to convince himself to just forget about the dream and get back to running his ship and searching for the Avatar.

He heard his uncle open the outer door and speak to someone. Whoever was at the door came into Zuko's cabin and the door was shut behind him. Zuko could feel the tension coming from the other room. The bath would have to wait. He wiped his forehead with the cloth that was still in his hand, barely noticing that it should not have been as cool as it still was. He walked to the doorway and leaned against it. Iroh was standing near the closed outer door looking serious and speaking to Lieutenant Jee in a quiet voice.

"Did you find anything out Lieutenant?"

"Yes I did, General Iroh. Your suspicions were correct, Sir."

Iroh closed his eyes and sighed, then shook his head slowly. "Where?"

"In the brig, Sir. I was just down there checking it out. I didn't get a good look, but… it wasn't pretty. I immediately came to find you and ran into Colonel Mongke on my way here. He asked if Prince Zuko was feeling better and requested an audience with him. He asked if the prince could meet him in the brig. I don't think he knew I had been down there and saw what was going on. Mongke said he had a _fun_ surprise for Prince Zuko."

"Damn!" Iroh rarely lost his temper, but he seemed close to doing so now. "This is not good."

"What's not good?" Zuko crossed the room and confronted the two older men. "What were you talking about Lieutenant? What was supposed to be a surprise?"

Iroh turned to acknowledge his nephew and the look on the old man's face told Zuko that the words "_not good"_ didn't even begin to describe the situation.

"Get dressed, Nephew. We're going to the brig."

Zuko didn't need to be told twice. He turned towards his wardrobe, dropping the cloth and forgetting his dream completely. He found a V-neck tunic and pulled it on, followed by a pair of pants. He grabbed his boots and was hopping on one foot, trying to get them on quickly, when Iroh spoke to him again. The urgency in the general's voice filled Zuko with dread.

"Zuko, we need to hurry."

Zuko searched his uncle's face for a moment, trying to name the emotion he saw there. When he couldn't he simply nodded his head.

"Let's go then." He kicked off the boot he had gotten halfway on and stepped into his slippers.

The trio moved swiftly to the belly of the large metal ship while Zuko tried to make sense of the conversation his uncle and the lieutenant were having.

"Do we know yet who is responsible for this?"

"Not officially, Sir, but I'm convinced Mongke is spearheading it. It was Mongke who asked to see Prince Zuko. Said he had a _surprise _for him."

"Oh, he'll be surprised." There was a moment of thoughtful silence before Iroh spoke again. "Lieutenant Jee, how long has this been going on?"

"I don't know, General. It'd have to be at least… four days, right?"

"Dear Sages…" Iroh trailed off as they entered the brig.

There were two guards standing outside one of the cell doors, which Zuko found odd. Guards were only stationed outside the cells that were holding important or dangerous prisoners and as far as Zuko knew, his ship didn't have any prisoners. The guards bowed to Iroh and Zuko as they approached. Upon standing, one of them turned and walked through the cell door, closing it behind him. After a moment, the door opened again and Colonel Mongke walked out, followed by the guard.

"Prince Zuko! It's good to see you feeling better! I was sorry to hear that you were unwell, but now that you're better I have some great news for you." Mongke put his hands on Zuko's shoulders, which greatly irritated the prince. That was something he might allow his uncle to do, but not one of his crew. Zuko let it slide though, because he was impatient to find out what was going on.

"News?"

"Yes Sir, regarding the Avatar."

"The Avatar? That's who you have locked up in there?" Zuko could barely believe it. _Uncle thought I would be upset by this? This is great news!_

"No, Prince Zuko. We do not have the Avatar… _yet_. But we do have something that will help you in your quest to capture him."

"_What_ do you have, Colonel Mongke?" Zuko didn't try to hide his disappointment and frustration. He was tired, his nerves were shot, and he felt like Mongke was teasing him, which he really didn't appreciate. Hadn't he suffered enough of that already this morning?

"We have _bait_, Sir."

"Bait?"

"Yes Sir." Mongke looked absolutely giddy at this news. He took a step backwards and put his hand on the doorknob. He was grinning proudly, as though he were waiting to unveil some great prize.

_Bait?_ Zuko began to get an uneasy feeling in his gut. He didn't like the idea of capturing an innocent person just to use as bait to capture someone else. That kind of act was without honor, something he would never do.

OK, except _maybe_ that one morning a few months back, when he got his hands on that Water Tribe girl. Sure, he tied her to a tree, but he was trying to bribe her, not use her as bait. That wasn't the same-

Suddenly his dream came rushing back to him. The waterbender… but that was impossible, wasn't it?

"_I've been on your ship for a few days now Prince Zuko… Things have been happening that you are not aware of… A number of your crew do know I'm here… they haven't had much trouble keeping me a secret…" _

No. It was just a dream, it wasn't real. It couldn't possibly be real, she couldn't possibly be here.

Zuko's eyes met Mongke's. He knew the man was waiting for him to speak, but he had to swallow hard a couple of times before he was able to do so.

"Who do you have in there?"

"Why don't you come see for yourself, Sir?" Colonel Mongke opened the door and bowed slightly, missing the look on Zuko's face as he entered the cell.

For a brief, wonderful moment Zuko could see nothing in the dark cell except for a few guards. But as they turned and saw the prince, they all backed away as one, giving Zuko a full view of their prisoner.

What Zuko saw made his blood run cold.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. ****Let me know what you all think, OK? **

**Chapter 3 is going to take a while to get out, sorry. It's all written, but I want to change a lot of it. I decided there were some things that I wasn't ready for yet. I'll do my best to get it out ASAP though. Don't give up on me!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I can't believe I forgot to mention this before, but I do not own Avatar. I hope I didn't break any laws by forgetting to make that crucial statement and I am sorry for any confusion or inconvenience I may have caused. **

**Happy Thanksgiving everybody!! This chapter is a long one, so go get a big plate of turkey (or if you prefer, something that isn't meat) and get comfy. Hopefully the turkey, or the story, won't put you to sleep!**

**OK, a couple of things before we get to the story. First, I am again sorry it took me so long to get this written. Honestly, I have been working on it almost every day. I must have gone back and rewritten it a dozen times, but I am finally happy with it. I think. I had a hard time deciding where to end the chapter, so I hope I picked a good place. If anyone finds anything wonky, please let me know, K? Morgana Makaber told me not to be such a perfectionist and just post the story. You wouldn't think I'm a perfectionist if you saw my kitchen sink! But you're right, I'm done tweaking. Oh yeah, Morgana is working on a story called Conclusion of Peace. It's Zutara of course, and I really like it. Check it out! **

**So, I didn't think I would be hooked on reviews this much, but I am. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story. Also, thanks to those of you who have recommended this story to your friends.**

**oOo**

**Chapter 3**

_It's her. It's really her. No! No, it can __**not**__ be her. Not here, not like this._

She looked just like she had in his dream, the _bad_ part of his dream. It was all the same, maybe even worse. The dirty, blood-stained bindings, the bruises, the burns. She was chained to the wall by her wrists and ankles and Zuko knew that heating the manacles with firebending would produce the same burns he saw in his dream. He couldn't see her neck because her head was hanging down and her hair was everywhere, but he could see her cheek. The handprint was there - an angry, red, blistering mark that took up the entire side of her pale, sunken face.

He had to still be dreaming. This could not really be happening.

But it was. He knew it was.

_The Avatar is going to kill me._

As he stepped into the cell, Zuko was hit by a stench he could only partially recognize. There was a horrible odor that triggered something in his memory, but he couldn't quite grasp it. There was also the smell of alcohol, but Zuko was not surprised. The men surrounding the girl were all former Rough Rhinos and Dragon's Breath whiskey was their beverage of choice. It appeared that most of the men had been drinking and Zuko noticed that a couple of them were intoxicated. He also noticed that of the eight or so men in the cell, none of them were from his original crew. Again, he wasn't surprised. Lieutenant Jee and the men under his command would never take part in something this barbaric. Had they known it was occurring, they would have reported it to Iroh immediately, sick prince or not. Said prince, who was beginning to feel sick all over again, watched for a moment while the men passed around a tankard of whiskey and took turns harassing the injured girl.

"Colonel Mongke?" Zuko tore his eyes from the nightmarish scene and confronted the man he was sure was responsible for it. The colonel was smiling proudly.

"Yes, Prince Zuko? What do you think?"

"What do I think?" Zuko repeated the Colonel's question in a deceivingly calm voice. "Colonel, is that the Avatar's waterbender?"

"Yes Sir. We found her-"

"**Are you **_**insane?**_**"** Zuko momentarily allowed his temper to surge, then took a breath and tried to reign it back in. He had to control himself in front of this man, so he tried to speak calmly. He also had to fight the urge to say the first thing that came to his mind. "You want to know what I think? I think you must have a death wish."

"Prince Zuko, you're not upset about this, are you? The Avatar will come for her and we'll be ready. We will capture him and bring him back to your father. You will get back everything you've lost." Mongke smirked and raised his eyebrow at Zuko before continuing. "And as an added bonus, you get to keep the girl." He winked, then added as an afterthought, "Unless you think she'd be a nice gift for your father."

Zuko could not believe this was actually happening. Did these men really think he would approve of this? He didn't. As much trouble as this little peasant had caused him, no one deserved this. This was torture. It was disgusting and cruel. And it had been happening on _his_ ship. The Avatar and the girl's brother would never believe that Zuko knew nothing about this. The prince could only imagine how they were going to react when they found out what she had been put through. He shook the thought away before addressing Colonel Mongke again.

"Are you serious? Haven't you and your Rough Rhinos fought against the Avatar? Do you really not know what he is capable of? What did you think he was going to do, just land on the main deck and ask nicely for us to give his waterbender back? What do you think he'll do when he finds out that she has been brutalized by half the crew?"

"Prince Zuko, I think you are overreact-" Colonel Mongke was cut off by cheering and cat-owl calls coming from the back of the cell.

One of the more inebriated men was holding a large ladle in front of the water bender's face, asking her how badly she wanted it. She looked like she barely had the strength to keep her eyes open and didn't even lift her head as the men taunted her. Zuko watched as she closed her eyes and turned her face away from the water. He couldn't help admiring her pride and strength, it seemed she would rather die from dehydration than beg for a drink. Although, Zuko wondered if she knew just how close to death she actually was. As he stepped closer he could see that her chin was quivering, as though she were crying, but there were no tears. If her tormentors noticed how dire her condition was, they didn't show it. They acted as if she was there solely for their entertainment. The man with the ladle kept pushing it at her face while the others hollered at her to beg for it. When she still refused, he poured the water down her front. The girl gasped and tried to struggle against her chains, but gave up almost immediately. She was just too weak. Zuko took another step closer, racking his brain for a way to diffuse the situation without making a scene when one of the men began pointing at their prisoner.

"Ooh, look boys! I think that water was too _cold_!" The comment was met with laughter and wolf-bat whistles.

Zuko's eyes went first the goose-pigeon bumps on her arms, but before his brain was able to stop them, they settled on what the man had actually been pointing at. Her tattered bindings, although filthy and stained, had become transparent now that they were wet. The girl's captors were getting a clear view of the proof that yes, the water was too cold, and with her arms chained above her head she could do nothing to hide it. Suddenly, Zuko forgot about trying to be tactful. He forgot about trying to control his temper. His only thought was that he needed to get the girl away from these rat-snakes, _now_.

"**Enough!"** He was on them before they knew what was happening. He jumped towards the man with the water, who turned and stumbled forward, swinging the ladle at Zuko's face. Zuko blocked the strike with his left forearm and grabbed the ladle with his right hand. He smirked as the man gave him a confused look before yelling in pain. It hadn't taken much for Zuko to heat the metal ladle and burn his opponent's hand. He then dropped the ladle and kicked it away as he gave the man a one-handed shove that sent him flying across the cell.

The prince was now positioned between the rest of the men and the girl. There was a moment where the men stared at Zuko in shock before they began reacting. Then one of the Rough Rhinos spoke up defiantly.

"Aww, come on Prince Zuko. What's the point of having a pretty little thing like this on board if we can't have a bit of fun with her?"

"None of you will be having any _fun_ when the Avatar comes for her and sees her like this."

"Is Prince Zuko afraid of a little boy?" Another man stepped forward. "Or are you just trying to protect the peasant?"

"Neither! Maybe none of you remember what that 'little boy' did to my ship at the South Pole. Or what he did to Zhao's _entire fleet_ at the North Pole. Or maybe you have all forgotten the simple fact that he's the Avatar - the most powerful bender in the world - and that this 'peasant' is one of his closest friends!"

Zuko was blasting fire from his mouth as he yelled and was punching flames into the air to emphasize his words. Most of the men were trying to get out of the cell and away from the prince's wrath, but a few were standing their ground. They obviously thought they had done nothing wrong. They were becoming upset that Zuko was reprimanding them for capturing the girl instead of praising them. They began taunting him and making suggestive remarks about him and the girl, and his reasons for being so upset about her treatment.

Two of the men were actually brash (or drunk) enough to attack the prince. One approached from the left and swung his sword at the teen. While Zuko was dodging it the other man blasted fire at him from the right. Zuko didn't have a chance to block it properly and he felt searing pain as the flame hit his forearm. Instead of stopping the prince, it enraged him. He dodged another swing from the swordsman and counterattacked viciously. Zuko wanted to draw the fight away from the girl, but the two men seemed to be purposely keeping him between her and themselves. He began to worry that he might not be able to defend himself and her at the same time. If Zuko was unable to properly block an attack, she was going to get injured further.

A recent lesson from his uncle suddenly came to mind and he silently thanked the old man for what he had thought at the time was just philosophical rambling. The firebender to Zuko's right sent a blast in his direction, but this time he was ready. The prince was able to protect himself and the girl by using a move he had seen the waterbender herself use many times. He took control of the oncoming flames, spun around, and sent the blast directly towards the swordsman. The man only had enough time to yell out in surprise and throw up his hands before the force of the blast threw him backwards. Just as the fire struck the swordsman, Zuko snapped his arms back towards himself. The flames followed his movements and Zuko held them at his left hip as he spun the rest of the way around. He then slammed the firebender to the ground with the man's own attack before extinguishing it with a flick of his hand.

No one else dared to move. Even General Iroh was shocked at how well his nephew executed the waterbending move. He was immensely proud also. Not just because the boy had actually listened to a lesson, but also because Zuko was able to use the force of the blasts to knock down his opponents without taking it too far and seriously injuring them.

"Enough." Zuko was still fuming (literally) but needed to control himself so that he could gain control of this situation. He turned towards Lieutenant Jee.

"Lieutenant! I want these men locked up until I have a chance to speak with them," Zuko said as he motioned to the men who had just attacked him. "And someone needs to get the corpsman. Tell him we have three burned guards and…" He stared at the girl for a moment, unable to come up with a way to describe the scene in front of him. "…this mess. Tell him I need him down here. NOW!"

One of the men ran to get the corpsman while a few others dragged Zuko's attackers to another cell. Everyone else still appeared too afraid to move, but Zuko wanted to clear out the cell before he dealt with the girl.

"General Iroh."

Iroh stepped forward. His nephew obviously had control of the situation and was giving orders to his crew, not asking for help from his uncle.

"Ship-wide orders. All crewmen who are not doing something absolutely essential to the functioning of this ship are to immediately report to their quarters. They are to remain there until told otherwise. Any crewman currently performing a vital task is to remain at his post until given further orders. Anyone found outside their cabin or their post will be dealt with severely."

"Yes, Prince Zuko." Iroh didn't really have a difficult task ahead of him. Anyone who had not ventured to the brig to check out the commotion was getting the story from those who had as they scrambled to their cabins. Iroh was back in the cell in less than five minutes. He was surprised to see that the girl had not yet been moved. Zuko was looking at her as though she were an incredibly baffling puzzle.

"We have to get her down, Nephew."

"I know that, Uncle." Zuko answered without turning around. He was studying the locks on her ankles. "I'm trying to figure out-"

"What is _that_?"

Zuko and Iroh turned around to see the medical corpsman had arrived and was staring, mouth wide open, at the waterbender.

"It's a girl, Master Chief." Lieutenant Jee returned from locking up Zuko's attackers and entered the cell behind the medic.

"What happened? How did she get on board the ship?"

"Later, Master Chief," Iroh said as he bent down and pulled a ring of keys from his sleeve. "Zuko, someone will have to hold her up while we do this."

It took Zuko a moment to realize that his uncle meant for him to do it. He really, _really_ did not want to, but it was obvious that the other three men had already decided for him. He stood in front of the girl and carefully put his hands under her arms. The first thing he noticed was that her body was much warmer than he would have expected. He had always imagined that someone who grew up in all that ice and snow would be as cold as her element. The second thing he was aware of was the smell. The stench of alcohol had dissipated along with Mongke's men, but the other odor that had struck him when he first entered the cell still lingered. It was stronger now and he recognized it this time. Just after his banishment, while his burn was healing, part of it became badly infected. The corpsman had been afraid that he would lose his eye, but was able to save it thanks to some intensely painful procedures and a weird, green ointment. That portion of his face healed much slower and the scar was much darker there. The putrid odor that Zuko had not been able to place before was the smell of infection.

The girl was so filthy and battered that Zuko couldn't tell what was dirt and what were bruises. He had to get her down though, so he just hoped he didn't hurt her any worse than she already was. She whimpered when he touched her and tried to shake her head. She was too weak to even open her eyes. When she spoke, although her voice was hoarse and strained, Zuko could hear the same strength and determination she always showed.

"Don't. Touch. Me."

Zuko looked to his uncle, who said nothing but gestured for him to continue.

"No." She wasn't really trying to fight. She seemed to know it was hopeless, but she was determined to let him know that she didn't want this. "No more." Zuko thought he heard her whisper the word "please" under her breath, but he knew she was too proud to beg for anything, even her life.

He was reminded of the one time in his life he had begged for mercy. He had been denied. It was on that day that he decided he would never beg for anything ever again - he would rather die standing than live on his knees. Zuko was sure this girl felt the same way. She assumed that Zuko was here to hurt her the way her guards had, not that he blamed her, but he wanted her to know that he was trying to help her. He didn't think she would believe him, he barely believed it himself. He shifted a little to get a better grip and she again told him not to touch her. He tried to reassure her, but it backfired on him.

"I'm not going to hurt you, but I have to touch you to get you down."

At the sound of Zuko's voice, the waterbender's entire body tensed up and she lifted her eyes to meet his. The look on her face was one of shock and absolute terror as she recognized the young man standing before her. Zuko had been trying for months to elicit such a response from this girl and should have been quite proud of himself for finally inciting fear in her. But now that he had achieved it he was faced with an emotion he couldn't name. Or maybe he just didn't want to.

"No." Her voice didn't sound nearly as strong as it had a moment before. It was barely a whisper and she sounded as though she were trying to convince herself of something she desperately didn't want to be true. "Not you."

The broken girl allowed her head to fall and shook it slowly back and forth. She then began rambling. Her voice only seemed to work every third or fourth word, making it impossible to understand her.

"No… lying… you… here… can't…"

Zuko had no idea what she was trying to say, but he had other things to worry about. He tried to ignore her as he lifted her by her underarms, trying to use his burned arm as little as possible. Her body was shaking and she sounded like she was trying to fight back sobs.

"Uncle, hurry up!"

"I'm going as fast as I can, Nephew." Zuko heard a click and felt the girl's legs fall away from the wall. Iroh stood and backed away so Lieutenant Jee could unlock her arms. "Do you have a good hold on her?"

"Yes, just hurry." The girl was trying to squirm away from him, but was too weak. Her head was resting on his shoulder - she didn't even have the strength to hold it up, though she was trying. Her weight wasn't bothering the prince, in fact he wondered if his men had fed her at all since they brought her here. What bothered him was the way she was sobbing without producing any tears and the way she was whispering, so quietly he could barely hear, "No, please don't do this," over and over into his neck.

Zuko tried to ignore the girl's pleas and focused on watching Lieutenant Jee work on her chains. He noticed the position her arms were in. They were up over her head, and back, supporting her body, which was leaning forward. It didn't look natural.

"Uncle, are her arms… should they be like that?"

Zuko couldn't see the faces of the other men, but the silence worried him.

"Uncle?"

"Damn it!" The corpsman swore quietly under his breath, but Zuko heard him.

"**Uncle?!!"**

"Her shoulders are dislocated, Zuko. It's going to hurt when-" But Iroh was cut off by the girl as her arms were released from their chains.

For four days she had been hanging in that position, with her shoulders holding up all her weight at an unnatural angle. They had gone numb some time ago, but the sudden change in position tore through her nerve endings. Her voice was hoarse and broken, so her screams sounded more like they were being made by a terrified animal than a human.

Zuko tried not to panic. He had expected to relieve her pain by unchaining her, not intensify it. Lieutenant Jee grabbed the girls wrists and held them up as Zuko lowered himself to the floor. He ended up sitting awkwardly with the girl's head still on his left shoulder and her arms being held up behind her. He didn't know what to do with his hands, so he kept them under her arms. The waterbender had quieted down and Zuko, thinking that she was no longer in pain, shifted so he could see her face. He instantly wished he hadn't.

She was staring ahead with her bloodied lips pulled back in a sort of snarl. There was a primal, growling noise as she breathed in and out through her clenched teeth, trying to control the pain. Zuko turned away from the girl and saw that the corpsman was studying her shoulders.

"Can you help her?" The prince's voice was as strong and demanding as always, but Iroh noticed that he _asked_ the medic to help the girl instead of _ordering_ him to, the way he usually did. It was as intriguing as it was unusual.

"Yes Sir, but it's going to hurt." The corpsman took a folded piece of fabric out of his bag. He looked between the prince and the peasant, and then back at the cloth. He unfolded and refolded it so that the fabric that had been on the outside was now inside and vice versa. He then handed it to Iroh. "Here, General Iroh. I assume you remember what to do with this?"

Zuko tried to keep his face passive, but his right eye grew wide as his uncle took the cloth and knelt down beside him and the girl. Zuko remembered the cloth. He remembered what the cloth meant. The cloth always meant pain - excruciating pain. Oh Spirits, how he _hated_ that cloth.

"Alright my dear, we're going to fix up your arms, but first I need you to do something for me." Iroh's voice was soft and kind. He spoke to the girl the same way he had spoken to Zuko during his long and agonizing recovery three years earlier. A part of Zuko, the spoiled prince part, didn't like that his uncle was attempting to reassure this girl. She _was _still the enemy. But another part of him was glad Iroh was there for her and hoped the old man could be of some comfort to her. He watched as the girl focused her eyes on Iroh and allowed him to put the cloth in her mouth.

"That's right, now bite down hard. Good girl. No, no. Don't look. Look at me. Focus on me. Ready?" The words rang through Zuko's memory as Iroh rubbed the girl's back with one hand and motioned to the corpsman with the other. "OK, here we go, on three…"

Zuko knew this trick. He held the girl still while Lieutenant Jee and the corpsman positioned themselves on either side of her. Each man took an arm as Iroh began to count. Somewhere between one and two Zuko heard a "pop-pop" as the waterbender's shoulders were put back into place. It was obviously painful. Zuko felt more than heard the girl moaning into his neck and when he looked at her face her eyes were glazed over and unfocused. Afraid she might pass out, he moved her so that she was lying across his lap, with his left arm cradling her head and his right hand twitching nervously like he wasn't sure what to do with it. He watched her face relax and her blue eyes close before turning his attention to her arms. They hung limp at her sides but her hands slowly began to open and close as though they hadn't been able to do so for days.

Zuko was surprised at how warm the waterbender's body was. Just holding her was making him sweat. He shifted the girl awkwardly and used the front of his tunic to wipe his forehead. Iroh noticed and frowned.

"Zuko, you look flushed. Are you alright?"

"Yes, Uncle. I just thought she'd be… cooler." Zuko wiped the sweat from his forehead again and adjusted his grip on the girl. He saw the confused look on his uncle's face and tried to explain. "I mean, she's from the South Pole. She's a waterbender, I would have assumed her skin would be… I don't know. I just never expected her to be this warm."

"Warm?" Iroh directed his question to the corpsman who approached Zuko and the waterbender with a worried look on his face. "Master Chief?"

The corpsman was pressing the back of his hand onto the girl's forehead and frowning. He didn't answer Iroh right away. Instead, he placed his hands on the girl's face and chest and arms, trying to judge her temperature. He then placed his hand back on her forehead and put the other hand on Zuko's. "General Iroh, she's burning up."

"Burning up? You mean she has a fever?" Zuko swatted the corpsman away and placed his own hand on the girl's head. "So… does that mean one of these wounds is infected?"

"That would be the most likely cause, Prince Zuko." The corpsman was looking over her wounds, paying special attention to the worst-looking ones. "Some of these injuries are a few days old. I'm sure no one bothered to clean them out properly."

"I'm sure no one bothered to clean them out at all," Lieutenant Jee added with no small amount of disdain.

"Right, Lieutenant," the corpsman continued. "So they became a breeding ground for all sorts of nasty things. The fever is her body's way of trying to kill whatever is causing the infection. Prince Zuko, you had a terrible infection when-"

"I know, I remember. So, what can you do for her?"

"Well, we need to find where the infection is and clean it out. Some of these are really bad and more than one of them could be infected. If we miss anything the infection could kill her."

The corpsman began to examine the girl's injuries and her body tensed up again. Her eyes opened in a panic and when they found Zuko's face she started to struggle. He wondered what her problem was. She normally faced him with a courage that he didn't often encounter. Now though, the fear in her eyes reminded him of a small child.

"Listen, I know you're in a lot of pain, but the Master Chief here is going to take care of that. He's really good. He has been my medical corpsman for over three years and - what?" She was babbling again and trying to push away the corpsman. She wasn't making any sense at all. She wanted Zuko to let her do something, but he couldn't figure out what it was she wanted to do, so he kept talking. "If you hold still this will go a lot easier. We're trying to help you."

The girl seemed to become more and more agitated the more Zuko spoke. He looked up at his uncle for help, but Iroh only shrugged and nodded for him to continue.

Zuko tried a few more times to reassure the girl, but she showed no signs of calming down. She wasn't really doing anything, she just turned her face away from the prince and kept her eyes closed. She tried to shake her head _'no,_' but she didn't even have the strength to lift it off Zuko's arm. He decided to give up on talking to her. It only seemed to be making things worse anyway. He watched the corpsman for a few minutes. The older man was trying to clean the dust and dirt off the girl so he could get a better view of her injuries. There were a few wounds that looked serious, and Zuko wondered how badly infected they were. He tried to push away the thought that if those infections weren't treated soon, they could enter her blood and kill her. The last thing he needed was to have the Avatar's girlfriend die on board his ship.

The girl seemed to have relaxed a little after Zuko stopped talking to her, though she glanced at him every so often with her blue eyes full of fear. She was trying to reach for a particularly nasty wound on her abdomen, but the corpsman wouldn't let her touch it. She gave up after a few moments and asked for water. While Zuko waited for Lieutenant Jee to bring her some (there was no clean water anywhere on the prison deck) he went back to watching the corpsman, who was frowning and looking extremely worried. The man placed his hands on the girl's belly and pressed down, which seemed to cause her intense pain. He seemed to be feeling for something. He and Iroh kept exchanging looks and Zuko got the feeling that he was intentionally being left out of the loop. He let his gaze fall back to the girl's stomach and did a double take. The wound that the corpsman was feeling was the same one that she had been reaching for a few moments ago. Zuko recognized the shape of the injury, and had to fight the urge to be sick. It was a boot-print. She had been kicked. Zuko was struck by another realization too. He voiced his thoughts before he could stop himself.

"That wasn't there in my dream."

"What was that, Prince Zuko?" the corpsman said, looking up.

Zuko looked quickly at the corpsman, then at his uncle. The look on Iroh's face convinced him keep his dream to himself.

"I uh, said that I didn't notice that before."

"Oh. Well Sir, I think it's a fairly new injury because the bruise is still forming. My guess is that it's less than half an hour old."

"How bad is it? If it's new it can't be the one that's infected, right?" The boot-shaped injury was indeed getting worse, but Zuko was trying to hold on to any chance that this girl wasn't going to die in his arms.

"No Sir, this one isn't infected, but it's still really bad. I think she may be in danger of bleeding to death."

"What? There's no blood, how can she be bleeding to death?" Zuko knew the answer, but found himself in a serious state of denial.

"Zuko," Iroh's voice was calm, but his nephew could detect the worry in it. "I think the Master Chief means that she's bleeding internally."

The prince closed his eyes and tried to process what his uncle had told him. He knew what that meant, but he was desperate to find a way out of this situation.

"What can you do to stop the bleeding, Master Chief?" Zuko's voice was calm and demanding, as though ordering the man to save the girl would make it possible.

"There isn't much I can do, Prince Zuko. Judging by the size of this injury, it was a very large boot. And it must have hit her pretty hard. My guess is that more than one of her internal organs has been ruptured. She is so dehydrated and weak… I could try to go in and find the bleeding. There is a chance I could stop it. But that in and of itself might kill her in this condition."

Zuko was about to respond when Lieutenant Jee reentered the cell with a large bucket of water and a clean ladle. As he stepped forward with the bucket Zuko shook his head and gestured for Jee to only give him the ladle. He ignored his uncle's scowl and held the water up to the girl's mouth. She barely took a mouthful, then turned her head away.

"More."

"Finish this first." Zuko tried offering the water again but she refused it.

"More, please."

"This is still full, drink this and then you can have more."

"It's… not enough." As weak as she was, she was still being a stubborn pain in the ass.

"It's enough to drink."

"I need… more."

"Listen, I'm not giving you an entire bucket of water. You're really sick, but that doesn't mean you can't bend. I know you think I'm stupid, but - ow!" Zuko pulled his arm back quickly. He had completely forgotten about the burn on his arm until the girl began poking at it. "Don't touch me! How dare you? What - what… are… you…"

Zuko gasped and stared in shock as the water floated from the ladle he was holding and coated the girl's hand like a glove. The girl held her hand over the burn on Zuko's arm and the water began glowing an other-worldly blue. She glanced up at him for a moment before dropping her gaze back to his wound. He wondered if the fear and confusion showed on his face as he tried to figure out what she was doing. He panicked when she lowered her glowing hand onto his burned arm.

"Hey - ahh…" The pain in Zuko's arm intensified for a brief moment, then instantly began to ebb away. He sighed in relief and forced himself to keep his eyes open so he could watch the waterbender. Her eyes were closed in concentration, but her fingers seemed to move of their own accord. They floated over his arm, passing charred flesh and leaving pink, healthy skin in their wake. The glowing water was used up quickly and the girl turned her head to rest it against Zuko's chest. He thought she was done, but after a moment she opened her eyes and lifted her hand, giving her fingers another little wiggle.

"Whoa!" Lieutenant Jee Jumped out of the way as the water in the bucket leapt into the air and rushed towards the water bender's hand.

The girl worked for a few minutes longer and healed about half of the burn. Zuko was able to feel the glowing water enter his burn and seep into his arm. He watched the burnt flesh glow blue and then disappear to be replaced with healthy skin. The prince had been so enthralled with watching his skin magically repair itself that he didn't notice the girl's condition. The color had completely drained from her face and her body was shaking uncontrollably. Suddenly her hand fell to her lap and what was left of her water splashed over the two young benders and onto the floor.

"Can't finish," she said as she turned her face back into Zuko's shirt. Her body relaxed and she seemed to be asleep.

Zuko watched her for a moment, then looked back at his arm. The burn wasn't completely gone, but the part of it that she had healed looked perfect. Still a little pinker than the surrounding skin, but otherwise perfect.

"What did…how did," Lieutenant Jee was at a total loss for words. "What the… how…_what did she do_!?"

"She… healed my arm." Zuko's whispered voice was filled with awe. "She used her waterbending and healed it."

"Sages," Iroh said. "Will you look at that?"

"I can't believe it." The corpsman looked like he really wanted to inspect Zuko's arm, but was afraid to touch it. Finally he ran is fingers over the newly healed wound, obviously impressed. "I've heard of this. The best waterbenders can use their abilities to heal, but this… this is incredible. There's no sign of the burn at all. This girl must be a waterbending master."

"That's great," Lieutenant Jee said. "We'll just get her some more water and she can heal herself."

"I don't think that will work, Lieutenant. Not now." The corpsman was again inspecting the girl's abdomen. It was swollen and deep purple and her face was a sickening shade of gray.

"She's unconscious, she exhausted herself healing Prince Zuko's. The best we can do now is keep her comfortable, and maybe pray for a miracle."

"Pray for a miracle?" Zuko felt his uncle place a hand on his shoulder and looked up at him. There was a finality in the old man's eyes that terrified the scarred prince. He looked down at the girl and then to the corpsman. "What do you mean, 'miracle?' Why do we need a miracle?"

"There is nothing more I can do for her, Sir. She's bleeding badly and there is no safe way to stop it. I'm sorry Prince Zuko, but by the looks of this injury… she'll be dead within the hour."


End file.
